Leonia, Englewood call for redesign of proposed LG building

The Leonia and Englewood councils are calling on LG Electronics USA to lower the height of its proposed 143-foot building in Englewood Cliffs, joining a chorus of opposition to the project that includes four former New Jersey governors, six North Jersey mayors and the head of the National Park Service.

The Englewood City Council unanimously passed a resolution last week urging LG to redesign the building. The Leonia Borough Council followed suit Wednesday, voting 4-2 in favor of the resolution.

"This is not a necessity," Leonia Councilman Gil Hawkins said of LG's plans to construct a 143-foot office building as part of its new North American headquarters in Englewood Cliffs. Critics say the building would be the first to rise above the Palisades tree line north of Fort Lee.

Opponents have argued that LG has ample room on its 27-acre campus to redesign the building at a lower height. LG officials, however, argue that doing so would delay the estimated $300 million project, which is expected to generate more than 2,000 construction jobs and provide Englewood Cliffs with $2.5 million in tax revenues annually.

The company broke ground at the site, located at 111 Sylvan Ave., late last year. Demolition of the existing structures on the property began in April and is nearing completion, according to LG spokesman John Taylor.

"I don't see how it affects us directly," Makroulakis said. "I don't think it's something that we should put together as a body."

Minichiello echoed his concerns.

The governing bodies in several other Bergen County towns have also spoken out against the height of the building, including the councils in Closter, Alpine and New Milford. The Tenafly council decided in April not to weigh in on the matter, saying it would be "hypocritical" and "create a divisive atmosphere" between the borough and Englewood Cliffs.

Taylor said Thursday that while LG had followed the appropriate procedures when it sought approval for the project, "We continue to listen to the community and note the views of various parties participating in the ongoing dialog about the LG project."

After six public hearings, the Englewood Cliffs zoning board approved LG's building application in 2012. That approval included a height variance allowing the company to build at 143 feet, more than four times what the property was zoned for at the time.

When two borough residents then challenged those approvals, the Borough Council rezoned the stretch of Sylvan Avenue where LG's campus is located to allow for buildings of up to 150 feet. A state judge upheld those variances last year, but that ruling is being appealed.

A lawsuit challenging the rezoning has also been filed. The fate of that suit is unclear after the Borough Council – bowing to public pressure – voted last month to rescind the zoning changes and ban the construction of any building taller than 35 feet.

The council's action won't affect LG's building plans unless a court invalidates its height variance, but it did address the concerns of some opponents that the rezoning would open the door to additional high-rise development near the Palisades.